• Gaming

The week in Massively features

By Michael Zenke Sept. 28, 2008 5:00 pm EST

	Massively's WAR Camp: Tier 2 Scenario Guides As in Tier 1, there is one scenario per racial pairing in Tier 2, totaling three new battlegrounds to visit. We've once again visited all three and documented our findings in gallery guides. Join us over the page, as we begin by looking at Phoenix Gate, the scenario for the High Elf and Dark Elf pairing.
	Brian Clayton and Matt Miller on Power and Responsibility in City of Heroes Right now the news is breaking about a major change to the City of Heroes issue release schedule. The Mission Architect feature is being moved to Issue 14, because overwhelming player response convinced the developers not to release the feature until it contained a key element the players wanted: the ability to include customized allies and opponents. Issue 13, now titled Power and Responsibility, will include a whole lot more cool content and reach the player base that much sooner.
	Massively explores EQ's upcoming expansion, Seeds of Destruction On October 21, SOE's EverQuest will release its 15th expansion, the Seeds of Destruction. Along with with a level cap raise from 80 to 85 and twenty new zones, EQ will also introduce a new Mercenary system to the game. Long considered a grouping dependent game, players have often struggled to find a group at odd hours or on low-population servers.
	Sneak peek at EverQuest 2 Game Update 49, and Guild Halls! The march of progress rolls forward in EverQuest 2! Coming soon to the world of Norrath is the 49th update to SOE's flagship title. GU49 adds in the latest chapter in the ongoing Void Storms world event and gives player housing a whole new breath of life ... but what players are really waiting for are the huge new structures they'll be able to own in-game.
	The Best of Massively: Our most helpful guides In just over one month, Massively will celebrate its first birthday! Last week we started a countdown to the event by kicking off a series of features highlighting the best stuff from the site so far. We started with our ten most important interviews. Today, we're continuing the weekly countdown by listing some of your (and our) favorite guides!

	Tabula Rasa is triple-A and here to stay, says NC West President Massively recently had the chance to speak with NC West's newly appointed President of Publishing, David Reid. The bulk of the interview concerned the formation of NC West and its implications for NCsoft as a whole, but David also took the time to answer our questions about several of NCsoft's existing triple-A titles, including Tabula Rasa.
	TurpsterVision : Warhammer proves you don't need a hoe to grow I wont bore you all with words and phrases strung together to create some form of coherence, instead I will jump right back in! I am extremely proud to invite you once more to join in with the fun right here at Massively that is TurpsterVision!
	AGDC08: Why 'free to play' doesn't mean free or easy money Min Kim, the presenter of the talk, subtitled this event "A collection of thoughts on building and launching a Free-to-Play MMO." Kim has been around the world and back talking about his company, Nexon, and the business practice they're leading the charge on.
	AGDC 08: The Secret to Storytelling in MMOs At the Austin Game Developers Conference, we sat down to a one-man panel held by James Portnow, of Divide by Zero Games. His topic was "The Secret to Storytelling in a Massively Multiplayer Environment", and it was well worth our time.
	News From the Wider MMO World: September 23, 2008 The MMO genre is more than World of Warcraft, Age of Conan, and Warhammer Online. Here's what's going on in the rest of the world.
	Anti-Aliased: WAR, huh, what is it good for? Well, Warhammer Online, in the very least, let me get away with putting that song in the title. We're in the thick of it now — WAR has launched and been installed on the machines of many. Some proclaim it to be the new timewaster, others find it to be a rip-off of World of Warcraft, and still others believe that it is, in fact, the digital messiah.
	Outlaws of EVE Online: Masu'di Whether prowling low security space hunting for targets or fighting in massive fleet engagements, EVE Online's elite pilots — called capsuleers — stride like gods across galactic battle zones, as seen from the perspective of normal ship captains and crews. In this setting of New Eden, a capsuleer's neural interface with the ship allows his thoughts to regulate the vessel's performance; the will to survive coupled with fast reflexes equates to greater fortitude and speed in combat.
	NCsoft 'very encouraged' by Guild Wars 2 Massively recently got to talk to David Reid, the newly appointed President of Publishing for NC West, about several key NCsoft matters. We took the opportunity to ask David about ArenaNet and Guild Wars, and in particular, what was happening with Guild Wars 2.
	David Reid sets the record straight on NC West Nobody can have failed to notice the announcement of NC West, which broke recently amid rumors of staffing reshuffles in various NCsoft studios. Although some key concerns were addressed very swiftly, many of our readers had plenty of questions to ask, and so did we.
	Scott "Lum the Mad" Jennings responds to David Reid's NCsoft West comments Earlier today we featured remarks from David Reid, Vice President for Publishing at the newly forming NCsoft West branch. During our discussion we talked about NCsoft's shift from a publisher of games big and small to one focused solely on AAA big-budget titles.
	World of Warcraft A new era for PvP in City of Heroes Massively recently had the chance to talk with City of Heroes executive producer Brian Clayton and Lead Designer Matt Miller about a multitude of CoX topics. It was clear to us that some major PvP changes were afoot, so we picked up the topic and ran with it.
	Super Boosters and beyond in City of Heroes Massively recently had the chance to talk with City of Heroes executive producer Brian Clayton and Lead Designer Matt Miller about a multitude of CoX topics. One of the points we covered was the downloadable optional content, such as the recent Cyborg Pack.
	First Impressions: Conquer Online Welcome to the First Impressions: Conquer Online! Brought to you by 91.com, purveyors of Eudemons Online and other Asian MMOs. Featuring a non-3D, fixed isometric viewpoint, the graphics seem at first to be a little dated, and there are a few oddities that might irritate players who are used to World of Warcraft and that style of MMO. But there is some charm to be seen in CO, and these in-game screenshots will display them to you.
	The Digital Continuum: Can a space colonization MMO work? The colonization of space isn't a brand new idea for the realm of MMOs. 2006's Seed was all about the subject, but it unfortunately failed due to a lack of publisher interest. There's no denying that such a game wouldn't be anywhere near a hugely popular title.
	Player Consequences: Are MMOs finished with forums? The creation of the Internet has made communication affordable, fast, and almost completely reliable. It's no wonder that almost every facet of our lives has been affected by it, especially our entertainment. Mainstream entertainment like mp3s and streaming television have only recently found their way online. However, gaming has had a much longer relationship with the Internet.